Temporary Defeat is not Permanent Failure

In January of 2009 with the help of some very talented and dedicated people we set out to build a full service marketing and product development agency for the luxury market.  Stigmare is that agency.  At the time we had some private investors lined up which would have given us the operating capital we needed to aggressively tackle this high profile market.  Unfortunately downturns in the stock market depleted their reserves and the investment never came.

Through dogged determination and some would say sheer pigheadedness we pushed forward anyway.  Our CIO kept his day job as a demand analyst, so he was the pragmatic one of the group.  Our Creative Director and I however through our full selves into the project.  Until quite recently that is.  Our Creative Director has taken a full-time position at a creative services staffing and placement agency recently, and I support her 100 percent.  I myself have just recently begun a search for stable full-time employment.

None of us have given up on the dream that is Stigmare.  Everyone we speak to says it is a wonderful idea, and something that the industry desperately needs.  However, timing as they say is everything, and we embarked on this in one of worst economic down turns in history.  Initially we viewed this as a key advantage in our service offering.  We could come in and offer a higher level of service and quality at a fraction of what larger agencies would command.  With marketing budgets slashed across the board however this was not the case.

We are all still very committed to Stigmare, but without a major influx of operating capital in the very near future we must face the reality of the situation.  There are after all still bills to pay.  We will continue to build our reputation as thought leaders in the industry as long as no conflict of interest exists with our full-time employers.  In time we will then be able to once again begin to build our agency.

I personally have not and will not forsake my mission to rebuild the fashion and apparel industry in the Northwest.  We have made incredible progress on that front over the last year and I will not let that be in vein.  There are some very exciting things happening with ECFW in the coming months and I look forward to sharing them with you all.